Identity
by Ryhan
Summary: A one-shot GiftFic for MettagiriSuru on DeviantArt. Not sure if it will continue or not! On hiatus until further notice!
1. Old Friends

"Mother...."

"Mother!!!"

The scream tore through the black night, echoing through the silence and carried away by the wind. The dream was vivid, too real, in fact, and too close for comfort. With a gasp, the man tore off his leather gloves and discarded them, staring intently at his hands. His blue eyes were wide with shock, and in a moment they seemed to flash, the pupils becoming slit like a snake's before returning to normal. Closing his eyes, he balled his fists and buried his head in them.

It was infuriating. The anger, the frustration, it welled up inside, causing pain and agony whenever he looked at his own body. He would never be his own person, yet he undoubtedly was himself. The reincarnation of a failed experiment, an experiment that was feared, more than himself.

Kadaj would never be alone, no matter how far he ran and what he did. He was not feared like Sephiroth, despite being one and the same. It was just a matter of time. Soon they would come to fear him, too, and not the being he was supposed to be.

He looked around him, a grin making its way onto his face. From behind him, two others walked out of the shadows. As they made their way into the moonlight, Kadaj got to his feet. "Brothers," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm and insanity, "Let us teach this world how to fear us! We will find Mother, and restore her!"

Loz and Yazoo looked at Kadaj and then at each other. Loz smirked and lifted his arm, slapping his weapon one good time. Yazoo bowed his head, his long hair hiding the excitement on his face. Once more silence had returned to the forest, and the three brothers walked together, making their way out.

* * *

The sound of a motorcycle trying to keep quiet usually has the exact opposite effect, especially when that motorcycle is coming through a quiet part of town in the middle of the night. Most people who were good citizens would be asleep at this hour; children had been put to bed hours ago, with the peaceful citizen parents following soon after.

Then again, Vincent was not most people. Vincent was "shady people" even though he did save the town numerous times, and the townspeople tolerated him, even greeted him genially.. when they saw him. Therefore, the only one to notice the quiet revving of the motorcycle coming through town was exactly who was not normal people. Since normal people were sound asleep, and since Vincent hardly ever slept, Vincent was, logically, the one person who noticed his old friend's arrival, which is how both he and Cloud preferred it.

Without once blinking at the interruption, or even caring why Cloud had suddenly appeared, Vincent closed his book and stood up, going to the window just in time to see Cloud park the bike and walk up to the door. In a swirl of mist, Vincent went downstairs and opened the door before Cloud even had the chance to knock.

"Eh?" was the noise that a surprised Cloud made as the door suddenly opened. "V-Vincent.. Did I wake you?"

In response, Vincent merely stepped aside, walking away from the door. Knowing that was about all the invitation he would ever come close to getting from Vincent, Cloud entered the house and shut the door behind him. Without skipping a beat, he cut to the chase.

"Kadaj and his gang are on the move again, it seems," Cloud said to Vincent's back.

Vincent paused and turned his head to the side, nodding. "So I've heard. They haven't passed through here."

"From what I can tell it's only a matter of time. The stories that follow them are too close to be tossed out as rumors. Tifa's getting worried."

"What do you plan to do?"

For a moment, there was silence. "Finish what I started, and do what should have been done years ago. But I need your help."

"You must be the one to defeat Kadaj. He will destroy village after village searching for you until you come out to stop him. As much as I would like to redeem my own honor, I cannot take your place."

"I'm not asking you to take my place, I'm just..." Cloud sighed and looked away. Unlike his friend, Cloud took pity on Kadaj and the rest. He could not explain it, but it was complicated. Vincent had the ability to face the facts and do what needed to be done, but Cloud lacked the resolve. He understood that. Vincent looked at him and turned around, closing the distance between them.

"Cloud, you must make up your mind. Kadaj will not suffer anyone else fight him but you. Remember," he said, "you will always have your friends to support you. But you must be the one to face him. It's always had to be you."

* * *

"Heh... what a bunch of weaklings.. they were not blessed by mother's gift!" A maniacal laugh resounded in the inferno that was once a town. The screams of townspeople could be heard from every corner, running, trying to escape the flames. Around him, Yazoo and Loz took their own motorcycles for a joyride, running down children and adults alike.

"Whatever it takes to bring Brother to me," he said in answer to the cries and pleas from the townspeople around him, asking him why he was doing this. Kadaj smiled at the carnage.

* * *

AN: A GiftFic I wrote for a friend of mine, who introduced me to the wonderful world of Advent Children! Not sure if this is a one-shot or not; it doesn't really conclude but I don't really have a plan for it either. I enjoyed writing it; so perhaps when boredom strikes or I get a FF muse, I shall write more. Until then, enjoy this strange and not quite concluding one-shot!


	2. Captured

"Tifa!"

"Cloud..."

The voices seemed to die out as Cloud screamed Tifa's name one last time. Kadaj smirked as he lifted Tifa's motionless body from the water, and Cloud could do nothing to stop them. "Wait! Where are you going with her!" Loz and Yazoo blocked Cloud's way.

"We are going to share with her Mother's legacy," Kadaj said in his crazed, obsessive voice. He followed up with a laugh that would send chills down most people's spine. Then the brothers mounted their bikes and took off, leaving Cloud to pass into unconsciousness.

"Brother, what are we going to do with her? Why did we bring her along?" Yazoo asked as they raced towards the Forgotten City. Kadaj continued to smile that sadistic smile.

"Just what I said. She means a lot to Big Brother. It hurts him to take her, and I was not lying when I said we would share with her Mother's legacy."

Loz looked at Kadaj. "You mean?"

They knew the answer when Kadaj laughed, and they doubled their time. "Soon, Big Brother," Kadaj said.

* * *

Tifa opened her eyes, blinking several times until objects around her came into focus. "Cloud?" she asked, but it was not Cloud who answered.

"Brother.. she's awake," came Yazoo's soft voice.

"Hmm, excellent!"

Tifa moaned as she started to sit up, but realized she could not move. She looked around, struggling against her bonds, but not even she could break them. Kadaj walked over slowly and looked down at her. The woman continued to struggle against the irons that were holding her wrists and ankles, as well as the piece that held her at her waist.

"Welcome home, Little Sister," Kadaj said. He pulled into view a small syringe, filled with a strange liquid. Tifa glared at him, but found looking into his fierce eyes uncomfortable, but at the same time, could not look away.

She gasped. "Sephiroth..."

This drew forth a crazed laugh from Kadaj. "Not quite, Little Sister! But soon! Soon I will inherit mother's legacy!" He came down where his face was just inches from hers. "Just..like.. you. Hold her!" he commanded his brothers. Loz and Yazoo each took an arm, despite the clamps, and held her still. Tifa struggled, trying to escape.

"Your struggle will only make this more difficult, and more painful! You should be happy that we have chosen you to carry Mother's cells!" Despite her struggling, Kadaj pressed the needle to her arm, and injected the strange liquid into Tifa's bloodstream. She cried out and her struggles became more and more violent. As the cells pulsed through her blood, Loz and Yazoo were forced to jump back. Tifa's brown eyes flashed blue several times, and she continued to cry out. Kadaj only watched with glee, her screams like music to him.

Finally her struggles ceased, and she lay there steadily. Then, with one large jerk, Tifa ripped the iron manacles and destroyed them, standing up slowly. Of course, she only managed to stay standing for a few moments before she fell backwards, being caught deftly by Loz.

"Welcome, Little Sister," Kadaj said.

* * *

Cloud sat up quickly, but regretted doing so nearly instantly. He moaned as he put a hand to his head. "Stay still," came the familiar voice of Vincent beside him.

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

"You and Tifa were ambushed by Kadaj and his gang. Kadaj took on Tifa while Yazoo and Loz kept you busy. Somehow they made it away with Tifa."

"So she really was kidnapped." Vincent nodded.

"Damn!" Cloud shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. "I have to go after her!"

"I wouldn't do that, Cloud. You need to rest. They probably wouldn't kill her. I'm not sure what they're planning."

Cloud sighed. "Kadaj said something about sharing Jenova's legacy with her.. They can't.." Cloud looked up at Vincent, who walked towards him. "Are they going to inject her with the Geostigma!"

"I can't say. I'm not sure what they would accomplish by doing so." Cloud closed his eyes and stood up, fighting back the dizziness he felt.

"What did they do to me? I wasn't expecting anything."

"It's obvious their objective was Tifa. You were just in the way, happening to be there at the right moment." At that moment, there was a sound at the door, and both Vincent and Cloud looked towards it, to see a young girl standing there.

"Marlene," Cloud said.

"Where's Tifa?" Marlene demanded. When Cloud did not answer, she ran over to him. "You gotta save her, Cloud! You gotta rescue Tifa!" Cloud knelt down to be nearly at eye level with Marlene.

"I will. I will try my hardest. But I need to know where they are first."

"How can you find her if you don't go looking!" Marlene shouted and turned around, running towards Vincent, hiding behind his cloak. She often did this when she was mad at Cloud, and did not want to talk to him, but Vincent did not appear to mind. He always let her in obligingly and let her do as she pleased with the cloak.

"Marlene, please stop this. I can't just go rushing in; I need to be prepared. They won't kill her, I promise you."

"How can you be sure?" came the young girl's muffled voice from inside Vincent's cloak. Cloud sighed, and started to speak, but Vincent interrupted.

"Cloud was seriously injured, even if he were to fight, there is no guarantee he could rescue her." Luckily, Marlene missed the glare that Cloud sent Vincent, but closed his eyes and nodded.

"He was?" Marlene's voice came out timidly. She moved aside part of Vincent's cloak to look at Cloud, then ran towards him.

"It's nothing big, Marlene. But I promise, I will rescue Tifa as soon as I possibly can. And Vincent's coming with me!"

It was Vincent's turn to glare at Cloud, but Marlene turned around, her little face brimming with happiness. When Marlene's face was turned, Cloud shrugged, causing Vincent to sigh. Apparently satisfied, Marlene ran out of the room, probably to find Denzel and tell him what happened.

"Don't look at me like that. I can't do it alone, you know," Cloud said.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I wrote chapter two a while back. I can't guarantee this will be continued as quickly as my other stories; quite frankly I don't know exactly where I'm going with it. I know a jist of what's going to happen, but not sure how to write it.

I will continue this story, I'd like to, anyways, but don't expect updates very often for it!


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